Arizona Artist Kayla Newnam Sets Out to Paint Murals in All 50 States

Arizona muralist Kayla Newnam is traveling the U.S. in a renovated camper and painting murals in all 50 states.

As a muralist, Kayla Newnam is accustomed to creating larger-than-life, show-stopping artwork. She wasn’t content with painting walls solely in her hometown, though. Last summer, she set out to paint murals in all 50 states.

“I like to prove to myself that I can do things, and it’s 100 percent me to set goals that seem unattainable,” she says.

In 2016, the Valley native was one of 16 artists selected for an IN FLUX project, a platform for emerging artists to create public art installations. Newnam’s design, depicting people wearing colorful patterns and with eggs over their eyes, was the size of a sketchpad when she submitted it.

When finished, the installation covered an entire wall at a Valley Metro light rail stop. Seeing her work scaled to such grandeur, Newnam knew instantly that her heart was in murals. “When I got a taste of seeing my work, huge, I loved the idea.”

Today, Newnam is literally painting her way through the U.S. Along with her two dogs, she’s traveling in a renovated 1991 travel trailer (painted to resemble her first mural), with the goal of painting a mural in every state by the end of 2024.

Newnam painted the first five in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming. Next up? Mississippi and Alabama. To create the unique murals, Newnam incorporates local themes into her designs. For example, she included crawfish in the Louisiana mural and created specific paint colors based on a sunset for Colorado’s.

“Art is a very good unifier,” Newnam says of her project, aptly titled Out There Murals. “It’s something people from any walk of life can appreciate.”

To that end, some of Newnam’s murals are community projects. She designed a wildlife- and sunset-themed mural in Wyoming, then created a large-scale stencil.

Using numbered paint buckets, community members participated in a paint-by-number fashion. Newnam recalls children painting who had never held a paintbrush before.

Meeting all types of artists – from 3-year-old amateurs to career professionals – is another highlight for Newnam. “Having that exposure and hearing all the different ideas and creative processes has made me a better artist,” she says.

To be part of Newnam’s journey, check out her Instagram (@kaylanewnam) or website (kaylanewnam.com/out-there-murals). You can also receive handwritten, custom-designed postcards by joining her Patreon (patreon.com/outtheremurals).